Supercoiled minicircle dna for gene therapy applications

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to nucleic acid molecule compositions comprising minivectors encoding a nucleic acid sequence and methods of gene therapy using minivectors encoding a nucleic acid sequence.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/252,455, filed on Oct. 16, 2009. The entire teachings of the aboveapplication are incorporated herein by reference.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The invention was supported, in whole or in part, by grant numberR01-AI054830 from the National Institutes of Health. The Government hascertain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gene therapy involves the delivery of DNA or RNA to diseased organ orcells to correct defective genes implicated in disease. This may beachieved through a number of different approaches. If the condition isdue to an absent or non-functional gene product a functional copy of thegene may be delivered to the disease loci. Alternatively, geneexpression may be controlled using RNA interference technologies such assmall interfering RNA (siRNA), short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and microRNA(miRNA). RNA interference (RNAi), a natural cell process by whichspecific mRNAs are targeted for degradation by complementary smallinterfering RNAs (siRNAs), enables the specific silencing of a singlegene at the cell level. A variety of biomedical¹ and clinicalresearch²⁻⁴ have showed that RNAi has a great potential as an efficienttherapeutic approach. Typically RNA interference is used todown-regulate expression of a pathogenic gene, however, up-regulation ofgenes is possible by targeting regulatory regions in gene promoters¹⁵.

Despite the tremendous therapeutic potential of gene therapy, and thelarge number of disorders identified as good candidates, the field hasso far been unsuccessful. These failures are largely due tocomplications associated with gene delivery. Delivery efficiency is highfor viral vectors, the most common delivery method, however these havelimited therapeutic potential because of problems observed in clinicaltrials including toxicity, immune and inflammatory responses,difficulties in targeting and controlling dose. In addition there isjustifiable concern that the vectors will integrate into the genome,with unknown long-term effects, and the possibility that the virus mayrecover its ability to cause disease.

Much effort has therefore been directed towards non-viral vectorsystems, such as plasmid DNA. These vectors are attractive because theyare simple to produce and store, can stably persist in cells, howeverthey contain bacterial DNA sequences that may trigger immunotoxicresponses. Some human cells, including dendritic cells and T-cells,cannot be efficiently transfected with current plasmid vectors. Short,linear DNA vectors and small RNAs such as short hairpin RNA (shRNA) andmicro-RNA (miRNA) are more easily introduced into cells than plasmids.Linear DNA and RNA ends, however, trigger rapid degradation by cell,requiring continuous replenishment. Furthermore, the DNA ends can signalrepair and recombination pathways to cause apoptosis. For these reasons,RNAi- and miRNA-based technologies have not yet been highly successfulin the clinic. There is clearly a desperate need for a new and efficientway to therapeutically deliver gene therapy vectors to cells.

Plasmid DNA vectors have some utility in basic research because they arestraightforward to generate and isolate. They are propagated inbacterial strains and recovered from the bacterial cells. As mentionedabove, however, this requires them to contain bacterial DNA sequencesnotably a prokaryotic origin of replication and an antibiotic resistancemarker for maintenance of the plasmid. The presence of these bacterialsequences has a number of very serious and deleterious consequences.Most notably it limits how small the plasmids can be made. Largeplasmids, of several kbp, are transfected at very low efficiency. Theirlarge size also makes them to susceptible to hydrodynamic shearingforces associated with delivery (e.g. through aerosolisation) or in thebloodstream. Shear-induced degradation leads to a loss of biologicalactivity that is at least partially responsible for the current lack ofsuccess in using non-vivral vectors for gene therapy. Various cationicand liposomal transfection reagents have been designed to try andalleviate these problems with transfection but these suffer fromproblems with cytotoxicity. In addition, the bacterial sequences onplasmids can induce silencing of the gene carried on the plasmid¹⁴leading to loss of efficacy even if the plasmid is successfullytransfected. The CpG motifs that are more common in bacterial thaneukaryotic DNA sequences also elicit immune responses in mammaliancells. Reducing the size of DNA vectors appears to be a reasonableapproach to increase cell transfection efficiency. One may envision thatthe bacterial sequences on the plasmid could be physically removed andresultant short linear DNA fragments that contain only the therapeuticsequences more easily introduced into cells than conventional plasmidvectors. Unfortunately, the ends of linear DNA are highly bioreactive invivo, triggering cellular DNA repair and recombination processes as wellas apoptosis. Thus, there is a need for gene targeting therapies thatare stable in biological environments and that allow for greater celltransfection and transgene expression.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a nucleic acid molecule composition comprising aminivector, wherein said minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence. Inone embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In a further embodiment, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises micro RNA(miRNA). In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded bythe minivector comprises a gene. In an additional embodiment, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises DNA that canbe bound by another cellular component, such as by protein, a differentDNA sequence, an RNA sequence, or a cell membrane.

In any embodiment, the minivectors can be labeled if desired with achemical moiety (e.g., cholesterol, fluorescein, biotin, a dye, or othermoiety); alternatively or in addition, additional modifications such asmodified bases or modified backbones can also be included.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of silencingexpression of a gene in a cell comprising contacting said cell with aminivector, wherein said minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence,wherein the nucleic acid sequence silences the expression of the gene.In one embodiment, embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by theminivector comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In a further embodiment,the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises micro RNA(miRNA). In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded bythe minivector comprises a gene. In an additional embodiment, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises DNA that canbe bound by another cellular component, such as by protein, a differentDNA sequence, an RNA sequence, or a cell membrane. In any embodiment,the minivectors can be labeled if desired as described above (e.g., witha chemical moiety, and alternatively or in addition, with a modifiedbase and/or modified backbone.) In a further embodiment, the cell is amammalian (e.g., a human) cell.

In one embodiment the invention relates to a method of gene therapy,comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of aminivector to a mammal in need thereof, wherein the minivector encodes anucleic acid sequence. In one embodiment, embodiment, the nucleic acidsequence encoded by the minivector comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA).In a further embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by theminivector comprises micro RNA (miRNA). In yet another embodiment, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises a gene. In anadditional embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by theminivector comprises DNA that can be bound by another cellularcomponent, such as by protein, a different DNA sequence, an RNAsequence, or a cell membrane. In any embodiment, the minivectors can belabeled if desired as described above (e.g., with a chemical moiety, andalternatively or in addition, with a modified base and/or modifiedbackbone.) In a further embodiment, the mammal is a human.

In another embodiment, the invention relates to a method of genetherapy, comprising administering to a cell a therapeutically effectiveamount of a minivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleic acidsequence. In one embodiment, embodiment, the nucleic acid sequenceencoded by the minivector comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In afurther embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises micro RNA (miRNA). In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acidsequence encoded by the minivector comprises a gene. In an additionalembodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises DNA that can be bound by another cellular component, such asby protein, a different DNA sequence, an RNA sequence, or a cellmembrane. In any embodiment, the minivectors can be labeled if desiredas described above (e.g., with a chemical moiety, and alternatively orin addition, with a modified base and/or modified backbone.) In yetanother embodiment, the cell is a mammalian (e.g., a human) cell.

In another embodiment, the invention relates to a method of genetherapy, comprising delivery to cells in the respiratory tract of amammal, a therapeutically effective amount of a minivector, wherein theminivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence. The minivector can beadministered to the respiratory tract by the use of a nebulizationdevice, and can be administered in the absence of a carrier molecule. Inone embodiment, the minivector can be administered to the nasal mucosaof the respiratory tract of the mammal. In these embodiments, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector can comprise shorthairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA). In other embodiments, thenucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivector comprises a gene. In anadditional embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by theminivector comprises DNA that can be bound by another cellularcomponent, such as by protein, a different DNA sequence, an RNAsequence, or a cell membrane. In any embodiment, the minivectors can belabeled if desired as described above (e.g., with a chemical moiety, andalternatively or in addition, with a modified base and/or modifiedbackbone.)

In a further embodiment, the invention relates to a method of silencinganaplastic lymphoma kinase gene expression in a mammalian cell,comprising administering to the mammalian cell an effective amount ofminivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence, andwherein the minivector silences anaplastic lymphoma kinase geneexpression. In one embodiment, embodiment, the nucleic acid sequenceencoded by the minivector comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In afurther embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises micro RNA (miRNA). In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acidsequence encoded by the minivector comprises a gene. In an additionalembodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises DNA that can be bound by another cellular component, such asby protein, a different DNA sequence, an RNA sequence, or a cellmembrane. In any embodiment, the minivectors can be labeled if desiredas described above (e.g., with a chemical moiety, and alternatively orin addition, with a modified base and/or modified backbone.) In yetanother embodiment, the mammalian cell is a human cell.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method of treating cancerin a mammal in need thereof, comprising administering to the mammal atherapeutically effective amount of a minivector, or a mammalian cellcomprising a minivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleic acidsequence. In one embodiment, embodiment, the nucleic acid sequenceencoded by the minivector comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA). In afurther embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises micro RNA (miRNA). In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acidsequence encoded by the minivector comprises a gene. In an additionalembodiment, the nucleic acid sequence encoded by the minivectorcomprises DNA that can be bound by another cellular component, such asby protein, a different DNA sequence, an RNA sequence, or a cellmembrane. In any embodiment, the minivectors can be labeled if desiredas described above (e.g., with a chemical moiety, and alternatively orin addition, with a modified base and/or modified backbone.) In afurther embodiment, the mammal is a human. In one embodiment, the canceris non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In yet another embodiment, the non-Hodgkin'slymphoma is anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

In another embodiment, the invention relates to a method of geneexpression in a cell comprising contacting said cell with a minivector,wherein said minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence, wherein thenucleic acid sequence expresses the gene. In one embodiment, the nucleicacid sequence comprises a gene. In another embodiment, the cell is amammalian (e.g., a human) cell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the preparation of minivector encoding shRNA for genesilencing. The synthesized oligo DNA encoding shRNA was subcloned intothe modified pMC-H1 vector under control of H1 promoter. By undergoingintegrase-mediated recombination, the circular minivectors composed ofonly H1 promoter and sequences for shRNA with a size of about 385 bpwere generated.

FIG. 2 shows the high cell transfection/gene silencing capacity of theminivectors in the hard-to-transfect lymphoma cells. Upper row, thestable GFP-expressing adhesion 293FT cells were transfected with theminivector, synthetic siRNAs, or DNA plasmid vectors by Lipofectaminemethod for gene silencing. After being incubated for 3 days, flowcytometry was performed and the change in mean fluorescence intensity ofcellular GFP expression was compared to that of the untreated cells(100%). Lower row, the same set of treatments was also carried out inthe hard-to-transfect Jurkat cells (a human T-lymphoma/leukemia cellline from ATCC, Manassas, Va., USA) and resultant change in cellular GFPexpression was calculated. FIGS. 3A-B show the minivector-induced ALKgene silencing and growth arrest of Karpas 299 cells ((a human ALCL cellline from the German resource center for biological material (DSMZ).FIG. 3A shows silencing of the cellular ALK gene. To validate potentialtherapeutic value for the hard-to-transfect Karpas 299 cells weretransfected with pMC vector control, a non-relevant control siRNA,conventional pMC-H1-ALK/shRNA plasmid vector, the ALK minivector, andsynthesized siRNA specific for ALK. After transfection for 4 days,cellular ALK fusion protein expression was examined by flow cytometrywith FITC-conjugated anti-ALK antibody and calculated by meanfluorescence intensity of antibody that bond to cellular ALK proteins.FIG. 3B shows inhibition of lymphoma cell growth. Meanwhile, resultantchange in cell growth was also simultaneously studied by MTT cellproliferation assay at day 4 of cell transfection. Relative growth ratesin cells with each treatment was showed in the graph. ** P<0.01.

FIG. 4 shows silencing GFP with minivector encoding shRNA against GFP.293FT cells stably expressing GFP were transfected with minivector forthree hours. Cells were collected at the indicated times followingtransfection and were submitted simultaneously to fluorescencemicroscopy (data not shown) and flow cytometry.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of the non-viral minivector. Supercoiledminivector DNA contains the residual attR site from the method used togenerate the minicircles (Fogg et al. 2006), the H1 RNA promoter, and ashort hairpin RNA (shRNA). To regulate gene expression, the minicircleis taken up into the nucleus where human RNA polymerase (II or III)transcribes it into shRNA. The shRNA is exported to the cytoplasm wherethe enzyme Dicer processes it. Subsequently, the RISC complex displacesthe sense strand and uses the remaining antisense strand of the siRNA totarget an mRNA, leading to mRNA degradation and gene silencing. TheshRNA can also encode miRNA to regulate classes of genes.

FIGS. 6A-E show vector comparison for silencing GFP in human lymphomacells. Human Karpas 299 lymphoma cells stably expressing GFP weretransfected using lipofectamine 2000, with traditional plasmid vector(C), minivector (D), or synthesized shRNA (E) encoded to silence GFP.Cells were collected four days after transfection and were submitted toflow cytometry. Changes in GFP expression were compared between thetreated cells (open peaks) and untreated cells (gray peak)s. Ascontrols, non-relevant shRNA (FIG. 7B) and pMC vector with no insert(FIG. 7A) were used.

FIGS. 7A-B show the transfection of human dendritic cells and T-cellswith minivectors results in enhanced gene expression. Human immature DCs(FIG. 7A) or CD3/CD28-activated T-cells (FIG. 7B) were transfected withmock (Co), traditional, regular (Reg) plasmid, or minivector encodingGLuc using GeneJuice. After transfection, maturation cocktail was addedto the DCs. Luciferase activity in Random Light Units (RLU) wasdetermined 48 h post transfection. There was higher gene expression incells with minivectors compared to regular plasmid in two independentexperiments (gray and black).

FIGS. 8A-B are graphical representations summarizing DNA shearing as afunction of length (averaged for at least three separate experiments).(FIG. 8A) The curves represent the fit to a sigmoidal function.Nebulization survival times were determined for each DNA vector. Thetime at which 50% of the vector survived (Survival₅₀(Neb)) was plotted(FIG. 8B). Each Survival₅₀(Neb) value is the mean from at least threeseparate experiments. Error bars represent the standard deviation. FIGS.9A-B depicts the influence of DNA topology on DNA survival. FIG. 9Ashows how topology of plasmid DNA (1,873 bp) influences its survivalduring nebulization. The fraction of DNA vector of each topology at eachtimepoint is shown. The curves are shown fitted to a sigmoidal function.Circular plasmids lasted much longer than linear DNA. Supercoilingprovided additional resistance to shear forces. FIG. 9B shows howtopology of Minivector DNA (385 bp) influences its survival duringsonication. The fraction of DNA was quantified the same as in FIG. 9A.Supercoiled Minivector DNA survived significantly longer than nicked orlinear DNA.

FIG. 10 depicts the process for attachment of chemical moieties tosupercoiled minivectors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention described herein, minivector DNA for use in alteration ofgene expression (including silencing expression of a gene or causingexpression of a gene), such as for gene therapy, holds exciting promise.Because the circular DNA persists in cells, continuous, renewable shRNAor miRNA or transgene expression is possible. The invention describedherein relates to a novel non-viral gene-therapy vector, minivector DNA,small, supercoiled DNA vectors which are almost completely devoid ofbacterial sequences. Because of their small size these minivectors aretransfected with high efficiency. The lack of bacterial sequence allowsfor persistent transgene expression without the silencing and immuneresponses associated with plasmid DNA vectors.

In the first instance the minivectors were tested for their ability todeliver a minimal construct comprising a promoter and sequences encodingfor shRNA to mediate gene silencing. RNA interference mediated genesilencing may alternatively be induced by delivering synthesized smallinterfering RNAs. These RNAs are highly susceptible to environmentalnucleases, however, and only produce a very transient response thereforeeliminating their therapeutic value. In contrast, DNA vectors arerelatively stable in biological environments. Therefore, as alternativesDNA vector systems that can express shRNA have been developed forgene-targeting therapy.⁵ DNA vectors encoding for shRNA have cellulareffects significantly longer than that achieved by synthesized siRNA andthe targeted gene can be down-regulated for several months.⁶ Moreover,the inducible shRNA expression system makes DNA vectors more tractable.⁷

The minivectors are, however, not limited to being a vehicle for shRNA(or miRNA). Because of the versatility that arises from not requiring alarge antibiotic resistance gene and origin of replication theminivectors can be engineered to contain a small gene (in this caseGaussia luciferase) and promoter yet still maintain a small size (lessthan, for example, about 2000 bp, much smaller than any plasmid bearinga functional gene for gene therapy). Transfection of Gaussia Luciferaseencoding minivectors into human dendritic cells and T-cells resulted inmuch higher gene expression in comparison to the regular plasmidcontaining the same gene and promoter. These results show twosignificant things. First, minivectors can be used to deliver smallgenes that can be transcribed and translated into functional proteins.Second, and demonstrating the great promise of these vectors, theminivector can transfect dendritic cells and T-cell lines in whichnon-viral transfection has had little to no success previously.

In addition, the minivectors overcome a key challenge of gene therapy:targeting the vector to the diseased organ. For example, while lungs areamenable to gene therapy because they are readily accessible,nebulization to create an aerosol for drug delivery causes extensiveshearing, rendering vectors such as plasmid DNA ineffective. However,the minivectors survived shearing forces upon nebulization, even in theabsence of condensing agents, indicating their efficacy for targeteddelivery to lung tissue.

Supercoiled DNA minicircles and methods for producing minicircles havebeen described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/448,590 (US PublicationNo.: US 20070020659 A1); Title: “Generation of Minicircle DNA WithPhysiological Supercoiling”, by Zechiedrich et al., which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For gene therapyapplications, supercoiled minicircles are referred to herein as“minivectors.” As described herein, minivectors were tested and found tohave biostability, a high cell transfection rate, high gene silencingcapacity and were found to have therapeutic potential in gene therapy.The findings described herein demonstrate that the minivectors possessadvantages for gene therapy.

As used herein “minivector” refers to a mini-sized and circular DNAvector system (minicircle) and has been previously described in U.S.application Ser. No. 11/448,590 (US Publication No.: US 20070020659 A1);Title: “Generation of Minicircle DNA With Physiological Supercoiling”,by Zechiedrich et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. A Minivector is supercoiled circular DNA molecules which areobtained in E. coli by in vivo integrase-mediated site-specificrecombination. It contains, for example, a nucleic acid molecule withmerely the transgene expression cassette (including promoter and anucleic acid sequence, wherein the nucleic acid sequence can be, forexample, a sequence encoding for shRNA targeted to a specific mRNAtranscript, or the nucleic acid sequence can be a gene encoding forexpression of a specific protein) and, importantly, nobacterial-originated sequences.^(8,9,10)

Minivectors for use in gene therapy are double-stranded, circular DNAmolecules of the size of from about 100 base pairs (bp) to about 2.5kilo base (kb), such as from about 200 bp to about 2.2 kb, for examplefrom about 300 bp to about 2.0 kb, for example from about 400 bp toabout 1.9 kb, for example from about 500 bp to about 1.8 kb, for examplefrom about 600 bp to about 1.7 kb, for example from about 700 bp toabout 1.6 kb, for example from about 800 bp to about 1.5 kb, for examplefrom about 900 bp to about 1.4 kb, for example from about 1 kb to about1.3 kb, for example from about 1.1 kb to about 1.2 kb. Minivectors canbe made in size increments of about 100 bp or fewer.

The minivectors can be labeled, e.g., using a chemical moiety, asdesired. Representative labels include fluorescein, biotin, cholesterol,dyes, modified bases and modified backbones. Representative dyesinclude: 6-carboxyfluorescein, 5-/6-carboxyrhodamine,5-/6-Carboxytetramethylrhodamine,6-Carboxy-2′-,4-,4′-,5′-,7-,7′-hexachlorofluorescein),6-Carboxy-2′-,4-,7-,7′-tetrachlorofluorescein),6-Carboxy-4′-,5′-dichloro-2′-,7′-dimethoxyfluorescein,7-amino-4-methylcoumarin-3-acetic acid), Cascade Blue, Marina Blue,Pacific Blue, Cy3, Cy5, Cy3.5, Cy5.5, IRDye700, IRDye800, BODIPY dye,Texas Red, Oregon Green, Rhodamine Red, Rhodamine Green. Additionalmodifications can also include modified bases (e.g. 2-aminopurine,methylated bases), or modified backbones (e.g., phosphorothioates, whereone of the non-bridging oxygens is substituted by a sulfur;2′-O-methyl-RNA-oligonucleotides; methyl-phosphate oligonucleotides).Multiple labels, including chemical moieties and/or modified basesand/or modified backbones, can be used simultaneously, if desired.Methods of labeling nucleotides are described, for example, in “NucleicAcid Probe Technology” by Robert E. Farrell; RNA Methodologies (ThirdEdition), 2005, pp. 285-316; and “Enzymatic Labeling of Nucleic Acids”by Stanley Tabor and Ann Boyle, in Current Protocols in Immunology 2001May; Chapter 10:Unit 10.10. The teachings of these references areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

As used herein, the term “RNA interference,” or “RNAi,” refers to theprocess whereby sequence-specific, post-transcriptional gene silencingis initiated by an RNA that is homologous in sequence to the silencedgene. RNAi, which occurs in a wide variety of living organism and theircells, from plants to humans, has also been referred to aspost-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and co-suppression indifferent biological systems. The sequence-specific degradation of mRNAobserved in RNAi, is mediated by small (or short) interfering RNAs(siRNAs).

As used herein, the term “interfering RNA” means an RNA molecule capableof directing the degradation of an RNA transcript having a nucleotidesequence at least a portion of which is substantially the same as thatof the interfering RNA, through the mechanism of RNA interference(RNAi). As known in the art, interfering RNAs can be “small interferingRNAs,” or siRNAs, composed of two complementary single-stranded RNAsthat form an intermolecular duplex. Interfering RNAs can also be “shorthairpin RNAs,” or shRNAs, composed of a single-stranded RNA with twoself-complementary regions that allow the RNA to fold back upon itselfand form a stem-loop structure with an intramolecular duplex region andan unpaired loop region.

As used herein, the term “gene silencing” refers to a reduction in theexpression product of a target gene. Silencing may be complete, in thatno final gene product is produced, or partial, in that a substantialreduction in the amount of gene product Occurs.

Mammal, as used herein, refers to animals, including, but not limitedto, primates (e.g., humans), cows, sheep, goats, horses, pigs, dogs,cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice or other bovine, ovine, equine,canine, feline, rodent or murine species. In one embodiment, the mammalis a human.

Mammalian cell, as used herein, refers to cells from animals, including,but not limited to, primates (e.g., humans), cows, sheep, goats, horses,pigs, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice or other bovine,ovine, equine, canine, feline, rodent or murine species. In oneembodiment, the mammalian cell is a human cell.

The term “treating” includes both therapeutic treatment and prophylactictreatment (reducing the likelihood of development). The term meansdecrease, suppress, attenuate, diminish, arrest, or stabilize thedevelopment or progression of a disease (e.g., a disease or disorderdelineated herein), lessen the severity of the disease or improve thesymptoms associated with the disease.

As described herein, the minivector for use in gene therapy is presentin an effective amount. As used herein, the term “effective amount”refers to an amount which, when administered in a proper dosing regimen,is sufficient to treat (therapeutically or prophylactically) the targetdisorder. For example, and effective amount is sufficient to reduce orameliorate the severity, duration or progression of the disorder beingtreated, prevent the advancement of the disorder being treated, causethe regression of the disorder being treated, or enhance or improve theprophylactic or therapeutic effect(s) of another therapy.

As described herein, the circular DNA minivector system, composed barelyof an H1 promoter and the sequences encoding shRNA for gene therapy wastested. The biostability, cell transfection rate, and gene silencingcapacity of the minivector systems was compared to the conventional DNAplasmid vectors and the synthesized siRNA. In addition, therapeuticpotential of the minivector was tested in the hard-to-transfectsuspension Jurkat (lymphoma/leukemia) cells and Karpas 299 (humananaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL)) cells. ALCL cells carry anabnormal chromosomal translocation involving the anaplastic lymphomakinase (ALK) gene (1-3). The resultant abnormal expression of a chimericALK fusion protein (4-6) has been demonstrated to be a key pathogenesisfactor for ALCL development (7-9). In this study, effects of theminivectors on cellular ALK gene expression and lymphoma cell growthwere simultaneously examined.

The biostability assays showed that the minivector was stable in humanserum for over 24 hours and, in contrast, the synthesized siRNA wascompletely digested after 4 hours incubation. For cell transfectionstudies, the minivector encoding GFP shRNA was introduced into stableGFP-expressing cells with lipofectamine methodology. Flow cytometryanalysis revealed that transfection of the minivector could inducesignificant GFP gene silencing in both 293FT cells (52% reduction) andthe hard-to-transfect Jurkat suspension lymphoma cells (46% reduction).To test potential therapeutic value, e minivector was generated forsilencing of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene, which is a keypathogenic factor of human anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).Cultured Karpas 299 ALCL cells were transfected with the minivector,conventional plasmid vector, and synthesized siRNA and resultant genesilencing was monitored by flow cytometry with FITC-conjugated anti-ALKantibodies. A significant decrease of ALK protein expression wasdetected in the cells transfected with the minivector (25% reduction) aswell as the synthetic siRNA (26% reduction), 30-fold higher than thatinduced by the conventional plasmid (0.8% reduction). Furthermore,simultaneous MTT assays demonstrated a significant growth arrest of ALCLcells (P<0.01) induced by the minivector or synthesized siRNA, but notconventional plasmid. Findings indicate that the minivector system isstable in serum and has a high cell transfection capacity, suggestingpotential value for in vivo gene therapy particularly in thehard-to-transfect cells.

As also described herein, minivectors varying from under 300 to over5,000 base pairs were subjected to shear forces generated byaerosolization through a nebulizer or sonication. Both supercoiling andlength dramatically impacted shear force survival. DNA supercoilingprotected DNA from shearing. Interestingly, a nicked molecule wassheared equivalently to a relaxed, intact DNA. DNA shearing wasinversely correlated with DNA length; the shorter the DNA, the moreresistant the DNA to shearing. Even in the absence of condensing agents,supercoiled DNA less than 1,200 base pairs survived for a time equal tothe typical treatment regimen time for some therapies. These resultsprovide an indication of the potential value of minivectors for targeteddelivery for gene therapy.

In addition to gene therapy applications, minicircles can also be usedto study DNA supercoiling, DNA supercoiling-dependent alternativestructures, or DNA supercoiling-dependent protein mechanisms. Forexample, an insert containing sequence from the disease locus,spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, including a 59 CAG repeat tract, wascloned into a 582 bp minicircle. A limited but significant amount ofcleavage by T7 endonuclease I was detected at higher supercoilinglevels, suggesting the presence of supercoil-stabilized alternativestructures.

Minicircles can also be used as assays to evaluate the mechanisms ofantibiotics and anticancer drugs that target the DNA topoisomerases.Further, minicircles can be used to regulate genes implicated in diseaseand in the genetic modification of human dendritic cells and humanT-cells.

In all of the embodiments described herein, a wide variety of cell typesor organisms can be used. For example, mammals as described above can beused. Alternatively, other types of cells/organisms can be used,including bacteria, Archaea, and eukaryotes (e.g., plants).

In all of the embodiments described herein, it is also possible to usemultiple types of minivectors in a single system, as well as minivectorswith multiple targets. For example, two (or more) separate minivectorscan be designed, in which each individual minivector encodes a differentnucleic acid sequence that comprises a portion or a domain of a singleprotein, such that when the individual minivectors are expressed in asingle cell, the portions or domains come together to form a singleactive protein. In addition, polymer forms of minivectors can also beformed during in vivo recombination. Moreover, it is possible to insertsequences encoding multiple therapeutic shRNAs and produce a minivectorwith simultaneous multi-gene targeting potential in the transfectedcells, resulting in a highly sensitive and specific gene therapy.

A description of embodiments of the invention follows.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Cell Transfection and Gene Silencing Materials andMethods Oligonucleotide Synthesis and Minivector Preparation

For GFP silencing the synthetic siRNAs were purchased with pairedcontrol siRNA (catalog #AM4626 from Ambion, Foster city, CA). The siRNAfor the ALK gene was synthesized according to the reported sequences¹¹with sense: (SEQ ID NO: 1) 5′-CACUUAGUAGUGUACCGCCtt-3′ and (SEQ ID NO:2) antisense: 5′-GGCGGUACACUACUAAGUGtt-3′ by Ambion. The parent plasmidused to generate the shRNA expressing Minivector was generated asfollows. KasI and HindIII restriction sited were engineered intopMC339-BbvCI (Fogg et al. 2006). A H1 promoter was subcloned into thepMC vector by inserting the KasI/HindIII fragment containing H1 promoterand shRNA expressing sequence from pSUPER-CCR5shRNA-3 (refs) between theKasI and HindIII sites. A BglII site was subsequently engineered infront of the shRNA expression sequence to generate pMV-CCR5shRNA3-BglII.This allows the shRNA expression sequences to be readily exchanged byinserting between the BglII and HindIII sites (FIG. 1). The DNA insertsencoding GFP shRNA with sense sequence of5′-GATCCCCGCAAGCTGACCCTGAAGTTCTTCAAGAGAGAACTTCAGGGTCAG CTTGCTTTTTA ¹²and ALK shRNA with sense sequence of5′-GATCCCCGAGTTGGTCATTGCGAGGATGCCATTTCAAGAGAATGGTATCCTCGTAATGACCAGCTCTTTTTA (Ito M, Zhao N, Zeng Z, Chang C C, Zu Y. CancerGene Ther 2010; 17: 633-644.) were each synthesized as twooligonucleotides, annealed to form suplexes and subcloned into themodified pMV vector under H1 promoter control between BglII and BamHIsites (FIG. 1). The resulting plasmids were named pMV-H1-GFPshRNA andpMV-H1-ALKshRNA. Minivector DNA parent plasmids were transformed into E.coli strain LZ54 (Zechiedrich et al. (1997), Genes Dev. 11, 2580-2592),and large scale λ-integrase (Int) mediated was performed as describedpreviously¹³ with the following minor modification. Pure, supercoiled,monomeric, Minivector DNA was isolated by multiple rounds of gelSephacryl S-500 filtration (GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Piscataway,N.J.). Only the supercoiled, monomeric form of minivector was used forthe gene silencing study. Along the convention of “p” in front ofplasmid names, we designate minivector DNAs with “mv” and the parentplasmids used to generate minivectors are designated “pMV”.

Biostability Assays

The generated minivector encoding GFP shRNA (l μg) as well as equimassamounts of parental plasmid pMV-H1-GFPshRNA and synthetic GFP siRNA wereincubated at 37° C. in 100 μl of 100% human serum (Atlanta BiologicalInc. Lawrenceville Ga.). At various time points, residual DNA vectors orsiRNA products were extracted with phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol(25:24:1), extracted with chloroform, and precipitated in 95% ethanol.The residual RNA and DNA products were then examined on 10%polyacrylamide and 1.5% agarose gels, respectively, followed by ethidiumbromide staining. The bands of DNA or siRNA products were quantifiedusing TotalLab software (FotoDyne Inc., Hartland, Wis.), and plottedusing Kaleidagraph (Synergy Software, Reading, Pa.).

Cell Transfection and Gene Silencing

As a reporter system for GFP gene silencing, the stable GFP-expressingcells were established, derived from adhesion 293FT cells (a transformedhuman embryonic kidney cell line, Invitrogen) and the hard-to-transfectJurkat cells (a human leukemia/lymphoma cell line). The GFP-expressingcells were transfected with DNA vectors or siRNAs using Lipofectaminemethodology following the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen,Carlsbad, Calif.). Resultant silencing of cellular GFP expression werequantified using flow cytometry at day 3 and data were analyzed withFlowJo software (BD Biosciences, San Jose, Calif.). Changes in meanfluorescence intensity of cellular GFP were calculated by using theuntreated cells as control (%).

In addition, cultured Karpas 299 cells (a human ALCL cell line) weretransfected with the synthetic ALK siRNA and control siRNA, pMV-H1vector, pMV-H1-ALKshRNA, or ALK minivector (mv-H1-ALKshRNA) as describedabove. Cells were collected at day 3, fixed, and permeabilized using acell preparation kit from BD Biosciences according to the manufacturer'sinstructions. Cellular ALK fusion proteins was stained byFITC-conjugated anti-ALK antibody (1:20 dilution, BD Biosciences) andquantified by flow cytometry.

MTT Cell Proliferation Assay

As cellular ALK gene silencing change in cell growth/proliferation wassimultaneously examined. Aliquots of the transfected Karpas 299 cells(100 W/sample) were transferred to a 96-well plate, mixed with 10 μl ofassay buffer of the MTT assay kit from Chemicon International (Temecula.CA), incubated at 37° C. for 4 hours, and then lysed per manufacturer'sinstructions. MTT cell proliferation assay was analyzed using a BioRadmicroplate reader by the detected absorbance at OD₅₄₀ in each specimen.Relative cell growth (%) was calculated by using untreated cells as abackground control. All experiments were performed at least three timesand the results were presented with mean±standard deviation.

Results

The Minivectors were Stable in Human Serum

To generate minivectors the synthetic oligo DNAs encoding shRNA specificfor the GFP gene or the ALK gene were subcloned into the modified pMV-H1parent plasmid (FIG. 1)¹³. By undergoing in vivo integrase-mediatedrecombination, circular minivectors, ˜385 bp, that contain barely H1promoter, sequences for shRNA and are almost completely devoid ofbacterial sequence were obtained. For gene silencing study, themonomeric and supercoiled form of the minivectors was fractioned andpurified.

For the biostability study, the purified GFP minivectors were incubatedin 100% human serum at 37° C. for 3 days. In control groups, parentalpMV-GFPshRNA vector and synthetic GFP siRNA were tested in the samecondition. At various time points, residual DNA vectors and syntheticsiRNA were extracted and analyzed by electrophoresis. The minivectorswere stable in human serum for at least 48 hours whereas the parentalplasmid DNA of vector was more than 50% degraded after ˜4 hours. Incontrast, the synthetic siRNA was digested in less than 30 minutes.

High Gene Silencing Efficiency of the Minivector in theHard-to-Transfect Lymphoma Cells

To evaluate cell transfection potential for gene silencing, two types ofstably GFP-expressing cells derived from adhesion 293FT cells (atransformed human kidney fibroblast cell line) and from suspensionKarpas 299 cells (a human ALCL cell line). The GFP-expressing cells weretransfected with the GFP minivector by using Lipofectamine methodologyand resultant changes in cellular GFP expression were quantified by flowcytometry after transfection for 3 days as described in ‘Materials andMethods’. In the adhesion 293FT cells, transfection of the minivectorinduced significant GFP gene silencing (49%), which was comparable tothat induced by pMV-H1-GFPshRNA plasmid vector (30%) and the syntheticGFP siRNA (68%) (Upper row of FIG. 2). Interestingly, in thehard-to-transfect Jurkat cells, transfection of minivector resulted in asignificant silencing of the GFP gene (a 46% reduction of cellular eGFPexpression), which was 10-folds higher than that induced bypMV-H1-GFPshRNA plasmid vector (4.5%) and only slightly lower than thatby the synthetic GFP siRNA (61%) (Lower row of FIG. 2).

Silencing the ALK Gene by the Minivector Induced Growth Arrest of Karpas299 Lymphoma Cells

It has been demonstrated that abnormal expression of ALK fusion proteinis a key pathogenic factor for development of the ALK-positive ALCL andsiRNA-induced ALK gene silencing resulted in growth inhibition of ALCLcells. To validate a potential therapeutic role for ALCL the minivectorencoding ALK shRNA was transfected into the hard-to-transfect Karpas 299lymphoma cells. After cell transfection for 3 days, resultant ALK genesilencing was evaluated by quantifying cellular ALK fusion proteinexpression with flow cytometry using a FITC-conjugated anti-ALK antibodyas described above. Transfection of minivector resulted in significantsilencing of the ALK gene in cultured Karpas 299 cells with a 25%reduction expression of cellular ALK fusion proteins, which was asefficient as that induced by transfection of the synthetic ALK siRNA(27%) (FIG. 3A). In contrast, conventional plasmid vector ofpMV-H1-ALKshRNA had little gene silencing effect in the hard-transfectKarpas 299 lymphoma cells, led to a negligible decreased expression(0.8%) of cellular ALK fusion protein. Findings indicated that theminivector was 30-folds more efficient than a conventional plasmidvector to induce ALK gene silencing in the hard-to-transfect Karpas 299lymphoma cells.

In addition, to confirm cellular effect resulting from the induced ALKgene silencing, corresponding cell growth was simultaneously examinedafter each treatment for 3 days. Relative cell growth rates (%) weredetected by MTT cell proliferation assays as described under ‘Materialsand Methods’. Transfection of Karpas 299 lymphoma cells with minivectorencoding ALK/shRNA as well as the synthetic ALK siRNA resulted in asignificant inhibition of cell growth (near 40% decrease and P<0.01). Incontrast, plasmid vector of pMC-H1-ALK/shRNA had no detected effect oncell growth in comparing to control cells that were transfected withvehicle alone, pMC-H1, or control siRNA (FIG. 3B). Taken together, thesefindings demonstrate that the minivector is a powerful tool for cellulargene silencing, particularly in hard-to-transfect cells.

In this study, the biostability and potential use of minivector for genetargeting therapy was validated in the hard-to-transfect lymphoma cells.The findings demonstrate that the minivectors possess advantages overboth synthetic siRNAs and conventional plasmid DNA vector: high celltransfection/gene silencing rate (relative to conventional plasmidvector) and high biostability in human serum. In addition, using theminivector system also eliminates potential cytotoxicity from backbonebacterial sequences of conventional plasmid vectors. The results suggestthat the minivector system is a promising delivery vector for in vivogene targeting therapy.

The circular minivector as described herein is composed barely only of atranscription promoter (H1), designed sequences encoding therapeuticshRNA for a targeting gene, and integrase-mediated in vivo recombinationsites (FIG. 1). Due to its—small size (for example in this exampleMinivectors are ˜385 bp) the minivector can have more numbers ofmolecules for a given volume/mass and higher cell transfectionefficiency than that of conventional DNA plasmid vectors. In addition,it is possible that the copy numbers of shRNA could be significantlyamplified via repeated gene transcription from the H1 promoter withinthe transfected cells. In contrast, transfected synthetic siRNA cannotincrease in copy numbers in cells. Synthetic siRNAs are also completelydestroyed during RNA-interference mediated gene silencing and thereforerequire constant replenishment. In addition to monomeric forms ofminivectors for gene silencing, polymer forms of minivectors can also beformed during in vivo recombination and can be purified using similartechniques. Such dimer/polymer forms of minivectors can be tested fortheir gene silencing potential using the techniques described herein.Moreover, it is possible to insert sequences encoding multipletherapeutic shRNAs and produce a minivector with simultaneous multi-genetargeting potential in the transfected cells, resulting in a highlysensitive and specific gene therapy.

Example 2 Minivector Encoding shRNA Blocks GFP Expression in HumanFibroblasts

The transfection efficiency of minicircles encoding shRNA targeted toGFP (minicircle shRNA-GFP) was assayed in human embryonic kidney cellsthat stably express GFP (293FT/GFP). Minivector encoding shRNA againstCCR5, which is not found in 293FT cells, served as a negative control.Following transfection using lipofectamine, GFP expression wasquantified using fluorescence activated cell sorting. Compared to cellstransfected with the control minivector, which had no effect onGFP-mediated fluorescence, cells receiving minivector showed decreasedfluorescence in a dose- and time-dependent manner with up to 44%decreased fluorescence (FIG. 4). Therefore, minivectors encoding shRNAagainst the GFP gene appear to be processed through the Dicer pathway asschematized in FIG. 5 to silence GFP expression.

Minivector encoding shRNA silences GFP expression in Jurkat lymphomacells more effectively than a conventional shRNA plasmid vector. Humankarpas 299 cells stably expressing GFP were generated. This cell linewas used to compare the transfection and silencing efficiency ofminivector and a conventional plasmid. The Minivector, my-H1-GFPshRNA(FIG. 6D) was compared to a conventional plasmid vector encoding thesame shRNA to GFP, pMV-H1-GFPshRNA (FIG. 6C). In addition, a syntheticsiRNA was tested with the same sequences used in DNA vectors (FIG. 6E).

As shown in FIGS. 6A-B, control pMV-H1 vector and Minivector expressinga control shRNA had no effect on cellular GFP expression. Transfectionof cells with conventional plasmid vector pMV-H1-GFPshRNA silenced GFPgene expression 4.5% of treated cells (FIG. 6C). However, minivectortreatment silenced GFP in 46% of the treated cells (FIG. 6D), which iscomparable to that induced by oligomeric shRNA, (61%) (FIG. 6E).

Example 3 Transfection of Human Dendritic and T Cells

Minivector encoding Gaussia luciferase transfected human dendritic cellsand activated T-cells with high efficiency. A system was established tomeasure the ability of activated T-cells to combat tumors (Ahmed et al.2007, J. Immunother. 30(1):96-107). A short luciferase gene, Gaussialuciferase, was cloned into the minivectors to make mvGLuc. Despitebeing one of the smallest easily trackable genes available, theluciferase gene resulted in relatively large minivectors ˜1.2 kb, whichare far larger than the ˜385 bp minicircles used in the experiments thatshowed regulation of GFP expression above. The GLuc-encoding minicirclesare, however, still smaller than typical DNA plasmid vectors and,importantly, lack any bacterial sequences for selection or replication.As shown, GLuc-delivery into human dendritic cells (DCs) (FIG. 7A) andT-cells (FIG. 7B) resulted in higher gene expression in comparison tothe regular plasmid. These results show two significant things. First,minivectors can be used to deliver small genes that can be transcribedand translated into functional proteins. Second, and demonstrating thegreat promise of these vectors, the minivector can transfect DCs andT-cell lines in which non-viral transfection has had little to nosuccess previously.

Example 4 Activity of Gaussia Luciferase in Mouse Lung

1,613 bp Minivectors encoding the non-secreted form of Gaussialuciferase under the control of the CMV promoter or various controlswere administered intranasally (5 μg) to out-bred female NIH Swiss mice.Half of the mice were given Minivector in water (mcGLuc+H₂O) and theother half were given Minivector in PEI (mcGluc+PEI). Control mice didnot receive any DNA. After 72 hours post-administration of Minivectors,mice were sacrificed and their lungs were harvested. Whole lungs werehomogenized using beads and lysis buffer then assayed using an ELISA forluciferase activity. Minivectors both transfected murine lungs andexpressed Gaussia luciferase, even in the absence of PEI. These resultsare significant because it indicates that no transfection vehicle, whichis usually toxic, may be needed during treatment. Additional experimentsinclude using other minivectors that express different proteins or shRNAto silence specific genes within the lung cells, as well asadministering the minivectors by aerosolization using an Aerotech IInebulizer.

Example 5 Assessment of Shearing Forces on Minivectors Materials andMethods Chemicals, Reagents, and Equipment

All chemicals were purchased through Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Mass.),except for the acrylamide (EMD Chemicals, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt,Germany), agarose (ISC BioExpress, Kaysville, Utah), and SYBR® Gold(Invitrogen, Hercules, Calif.). All restriction enzymes were purchasedfrom New England Biolabs (Ipswich, Mass.). Plasmid Maxi kit was fromQiagen (Valencia, Calif.) and Amicon Ultra centrifugal filters were fromMillipore (Billerica, Mass.). The Aerotech II jet nebulizer waspurchased from Pharmalucence (Bedford, Mass.) and the Aridyne 2000compressor was from Allied Healthcare Products (St. Louis, Mo.). The ⅛″probe sonicator (Model 60 Sonic Dismembrator) is from Fisher Scientific(Waltham, Mass.). Software programs of PC Image and Total Lab werepurchased from Fotodyne (Hartland, Wis.) and TotalLab (Durham, N.C.),respectively.

DNA Generation and Manipulation

A number of plasmids and Minivectors, covering a wide range of sizesvarying from 281 bp to 5,302 bp were subjected to shear forces generatedthrough aerosolization through a Aerotech II nebulizer or to shearforces generated by sonication Throughout the text these vectors arereferred to these only by their length because that is the main variablebeing assessed. Following the convention of using “p” in front ofplasmid names, Minivector™ DNAs are designated with “mv”. Parentplasmids used to generate Minivector™ DNAs are designated “pMV”. Parentplasmids, pMV-KB4TAL-GLucKDEL and pMV-CMV-GLucKDEL, were gifts from Dr.David Spencer (Baylor College of Medicine), and pMV-KB4TAL-mCherry andpMV-CMV-mCherry were gifts from Dr. Martin Matzuk and Dr. Zhifeng Yu(Baylor College of Medicine). pQR499 was a gift from Dr. John Ward(University College London, U.K.). pDJC1 was constructed by digestingpQR499 with TfiI and AflIII. The recessed ends of the digested pQR499were filled in with T4 DNA polymerase and subsequently ligated with T4DNA ligase. Plasmids were generated in E. coli DH5α cells and wereisolated using a Plasmid Maxi Kit as per manufacturer's instructions,and subsequently desalted and concentrated using Amicon Ultracentrifugal filters. Minivector DNA was obtained as follows. Minivectorparent plasmids were transformed into E. coli strain LZ54 (Zechiedrichet al. 1997) and large-scale λ Int-mediated recombination andMinivector™ DNA isolation was performed as described (Fogg et al. 2006;Zhao et al. 2010). To generate nicked DNA vector, nicking endonucleaseNt.BbvCI was used following manufacturer's protocols. Linearization wasperformed with PvuI, BspHI, or ScaI as per manufacturer's protocols.

DNA Shearing

For nebulization, 10 mL of DNA at 1 ngμL⁻¹ in TE (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mMEDTA, pH 8) was added to an Aerotech II jet nebulizer. Air was deliveredto the nebulizer at a rate of 10 L/min and gauge pressure of 50 p.s.i.by an Aridyne 2000 compressor. During nebulization, aerosol was capturedusing an all glass impinger (AGI) for 3 min at 0.5-3.5 min, 7-10 min,20-23 min, and 25-28 min, in which the AGI reservoir held 20 mL TE.Aerosol output was approximately 0.3 mLmin⁻¹. Simultaneously, 15 μLsamples were taken from the nebulizer reservoir.

For the remaining studies of the effects of DNA length on nebulizationsurvival, 15 μL aliquots were removed from the nebulizer reservoir priorto and at intervals throughout nebulization up to 30 min that at whichpoint the DNA solution was depleted. Because of the dramatic changesthat occurred early, aliquots were taken at one- or two-minute intervalsinitially.

For sonication, 1 mL of DNA at 1 ngμL⁻¹ in TE in an eppendorf tube wasincubated on ice during sonication with a ⅛″ probe sonicator set at “5”,which corresponds to a power output of 7 watts (Root Mean Square). 15 μLaliquots were removed prior to and during sonication at the timepointsindicated in the data. All DNA shearing experiments were performed aminimum of three separate times. DNA was analyzed by gel electrophoresison 1% agarose gels for >1,000 bp or 5% acrylamide (29:1acrylamide:bis-acrylamide) gels for DNA <1,000 bp in 40 mM Tris-acetateand 2 mM EDTA. All gels were submitted to 125 volts for 2 hours, stainedwith SYBR® Gold (Invitrogen, Hercules, Calif.) for 20 min and visualizedusing PC Image. Total Lab was utilized to quantify the remaining DNA.

Results Effect of DNA Length on Resistance to Shear

There are multiple processes that generate hydrodynamic shear, includingpassage through a narrow gauge needle, circulation through a HPLC pump,nebulization, and sonication; these methods are routinely used togenerate DNA fragments for sequencing or for shotgun cloning (Sambrookand Russell, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2006). Nebulizationwas chosen first for its reproducibility and clinical relevance. In thecases where the DNA vectors resisted shear forces from nebulization,sonication was used because it can generate much higher shear forces andfor longer times than the nebulizer while maintaining reproducibility.To facilitate comparisons between different DNAs, the term, Survival₅₀,is used to indicate the time needed to degrade half of the DNA. Theterms (Neb) and (Son) in parenthesis refer to nebulization andsonication respectively. The Survival₅₀ values for each DNA, obtained asdescribed below, are also listed in Table 1.

DNA samples were subjected to nebulization in a Collison-like jetnebulizer (May K. R. (1973) The Collison Nebulizer. Description,Performance & Application J. of Aerosol Science, Vol. 4, #3, p. 235).The nebulizer works as follows: high-pressured air is pumped through asmall orifice in the nozzle. The pressure differential between thenozzle and reservoir siphons the therapeutic solution from the reservoirinto the high velocity jetstream thus generating primary droplets 15 to500 nm in size (Lentz et al. 2005, Aerosol Science 36, 973-990). MinimalDNA degradation occurs during this primary droplet formation (Lentz etal. 2005, Aerosol Science 36, 973-990); however, the droplets are toolarge to penetrate deep into the lungs (Eberl et al. 2001, Eur J NuclMed. 2001 September; 28(9):1365-72). A plastic cone within the bafflebreaks the primary droplets into smaller (1-10 nm) ones that canpenetrate deep into the lungs (Bennet et al. 2002, Journal of AerosolMedicine, 15, 179-188). DNA shearing occurs almost exclusively duringimpact with the plastic cone within the baffle (Lentz et al. 2005,Aerosol Science 36, 973-990). The smaller droplets escape the bafflearea exits the nebulizer in aerosol form. A removable lid allows forsampling from the reservoir.

Only a small fraction of the small droplets are carried out themouthpiece with the air-flow; the majority of the droplets condense backinto the reservoir where they are recirculated through the nozzle. As aconsequence, the DNA in the reservoir becomes increasingly sheared overtime.

Because of the rapidity of the condensation and aerosolization, thestate of the DNA in the reservoir is identical to that in the aerosol(Knight et al., 1988, J of Infect Diseases, 158(2):443-8). It is easierand less complicated to collect samples from the reservoir than tocapture the aerosol, so samples from the aerosol and the reservoir werecompared (data not shown). Indeed, DNA degradation was identical fromboth sites for DNAs representing both ends of the length spectrum testedin this study, a 3,869 bp plasmid or a 385 bp minivector. In theremaining nebulization experiments, therefore, samples were drawn fromthe reservoir.

Supercoiled DNAs varying from 281 to 5,302 bp were subjected tonebulization and their survival was quantified by gel electrophoresis.The extent of DNA shearing was determined from the disappearance offull-length (intact) DNA vector over time. The results were highlyreproducible and independent of the DNA concentration. DNAconcentrations ranging from 1 μg/ml to 10 μg/ml gave identical resultsfor DNA of 1,873 bp (data not shown). The relationship between DNAlength and shearing was strongly proportional. In addition, DNAs decayeddifferently depending upon length (FIGS. 8A-B). Supercoiled DNA >2,600bp fragmented rapidly and displayed pseudo-exponential decay.Supercoiled DNA vectors between 1,580 and 2,232 bp exhibited an initialresistance to shearing, as can be seen by the sigmoidal shaped curves inFIG. 8A-B, and then degraded. Supercoiled Minivector DNA ≦1,243 bp didnot decay measurably, and exhibited a slight concentrating effect withtime due to evaporation of the aqueous solvent.

A relatively large Minivector™ DNA, pMV-CMV-Luc2 (2,679 bp) had arelatively short survival time in the nebulizer, comparable to a similarsized plasmid, indicating that the difference in shear survival timesbetween plasmids and Minivector™ DNA is not because of differences insequence (e.g., origin of replication, gene encoding antibioticresistance on the plasmid).

The concentration effect during nebulization has been observedpreviously with small drugs that are resistant to shearing. Thisconcentrating effect becomes more pronounced when the reservoir volumesare small toward the end of the nebulization. DNA >3,000 bp iscompletely sheared during the early part of the nebulization. Therefore,the concentration effect was negligible for quantifying the shearing ofthese large DNA vectors, but the concentration effect posed a challengefor data quantification for DNA ≦1,243 bp.

Although supercoiled Minivector DNA of 1,243-1,714 bp were largelyintact following nebulization, sheared fragments were visible as a smearof shorter DNA fragments running ahead of the supercoiled band (data notshown). The typical degradation length of these fragments from plasmidsand these larger minivectors was between 200-1,000 bp.

Because there was no detectable shearing of 385 bp Minivector in thenebulizer, the resistance of this Minivector to shear forces generatedby sonication was tested; Survival50(Son) for DNA vectors <1,243 bp wasthen measured. The Survival₅₀(Son) of the 385 bp vector was 28 minutes.In comparison the Survival₅₀(Son) of a 3,869 bp plasmid duringsonication under identical conditions was only 0.37 minutes,demonstrating the much higher shear-resistance of the Minivectorrelative to a conventional plasmid vector.

Effect of DNA Topology on Resistance to Shear Forces

Linear, nicked and relaxed forms of the 1,873 bp pQR499 plasmid and 385bp mv-H1-CCR5shRNA Minivector™ DNA were generated to investigate theeffect of DNA topology on resistance to shear forces. These topologicalforms of DNA were subjected to either nebulization (for the 1,873 bp) orsonication (for the 385 bp) and their survival was quantified with time(FIG. 9). As expected, DNA supercoiling had a strong protective effecton shear force survival. The Survival₅₀(Neb) for the 1,873 bp DNA in itslinear form was ˜4 min, compared to ˜22 min in its negativelysupercoiled form. Thus, without the benefit of supercoiling-mediatedcompaction, linear DNA likely has a much larger hydrodynamic diameter;linearized 1,873 bp DNA was sheared similarly to that of a much larger(>3,000 bp) supercoiled DNA plasmid. Nicked (open-circle) DNA lasted˜4-fold longer than linear, reflecting how circularity reduces thehydrodynamic diameter. One might predict that a preexisting nick wouldreduce DNA vector survival. Relaxed 1,873 bp (with both strandscovalently closed) survived the same as the nicked 1,873 bp plasmid.Thus, a nick does not further subject DNA to shear force. As the nicked,relaxed, or supercoiled DNA was sheared by nebulization, we neverobserved any degradation products corresponding to the full-lengthlinear form. This is most likely a consequence of the short lifetime oflinear DNA, as soon as full length linear forms it will rapidly shearand therefore will not accumulate. Negatively supercoiling provided areproducible improvement in shear survival (˜1.3 fold) over nicked andrelaxed 1,873 bp DNA.

A similar dependence on DNA topology was observed for the 385 bpminivector. Linear 385 bp DNA was rapidly degraded during sonication.Nicked 385 bp DNA survived about 7-fold longer than linear. Supercoiled385 bp Minivector™ DNA lasted about 4-fold longer than nicked 385 bpDNA, which was a more dramatic improvement than was observed forsupercoiled 1,873 bp DNA.

Discussion

Minivector™ DNA less than 2,000 bp is not significantly degraded in anebulizer. Resistance of Minivector™ DNA to shear forces appears to bemostly attributable to its small size. Survival time in the nebulizerincreases sharply as the plasmid size drops below 3,000 bp (FIG. 9).

Efforts to Protect DNA from Shear Forces

Much effort has been and continues to be put forth in improving thecomposition of the vehicle systems to protect fragile traditionalplasmid DNA vectors or siRNA during delivery. Cationic agents, such aspolyethylenimine (PEI), condense the DNA, reducing the hydrodynamicdiameter, thereby helping to protect the DNA from shearing (Belur et al.2007, Nat Protoc 2: 146-52, and Lentz et al. 2005, Aerosol Science 36,973-990). Most of these vehicles are, unfortunately, cytotoxic (Brunotet al. 2007. Biomaterials 28:632-40; Moghimi et al. 2005, Moleculartherapy 11: 990-5), limiting their utility. PEI is cytotoxic whendelivered to the blood, but is less toxic when delivered by aerosol ascompared to systemic administration (Di Giola and Conese, 2009, Drug DesDevel Ther. 2009 Feb. 6; 2:163-88). The ability of Minivector™ DNA toresist the shear forces associated with delivery, even in the absence ofcondensing agents should reduce the need for toxic vehicle. Some vehiclewill presumably still be needed for the DNA to be able to enter intocells in the lung, although this should be less than would be requiredfor a conventional plasmid DNA vector.

Therapeutic Consequences on Gene Therapy of DNA Shearing

The obvious detriment of DNA shearing is a reduction in the amount ofintact, biologically active vector remaining for therapy. It could beargued that the dose of DNA delivered could simply be increased tocompensate for the loss of supercoiled vector. Doing this would have twonegative consequences. First, increasing the amount of vector requires acommensurate increase in the amount of cytotoxic delivery vehicle.Second, large plasmid DNA is broken into shorter linear DNA fragments.Vector associated toxicity may result from the delivery of short linearDNA fragments. Additional outcomes of delivering sheared DNA include DNAdegradation, and induction of DNA repair and recombination pathways,potentially resulting in genome instability. Free DNA ends are quicklyprocessed in the cell. On one extreme, DNA ends could trigger apoptosis,especially if delivered in large quantities. On the other extreme, thecell could repair and ligate the DNA in a random fashion to form largeepisomal concatemers. This has been reported for linear DNA delivered tomouse livers and in that case resulted in stable long-term transgeneexpression that persists for several weeks (Chen et al., 2001, MolecularTherapy, 3, 403-410). It is possible that the random DNA fragmentsresulting from DNA shearing would join together to generate newsequences, with the potential for new toxic gene products.

It is important therefore that Minivector™ DNA did not merely survivenebulization and sonication for longer than traditional plasmid vectorsduring nebulization but survived intact with very little if any DNAdegradation. Therefore, the risk of delivering short linear DNAfragments is reduced considerably by using smaller, supercoiled DNAvectors.

Model for DNA Shearing

DNA supercoiling may have conflicting effects on shear survival. Thetorsional strain in supercoiled DNA might make the molecule moresusceptible to shearing, whereas compaction increases shear resistance(Lengsfeld and Anchordoquy, 2002, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences,91, 1581-1589). The data herein show that the beneficial effect ofcompaction is the dominant effect. The advantage provided bysupercoiling decreases as the DNA becomes larger.

DNA Vector Delivery to the Lungs

Identifying DNA vector lengths that survive shear forces has importantimplications for gene therapy delivery no matter what the deliveryroute; however, the use of a Collison-like jet nebulizer makes our dataparticularly germane for therapeutic delivery to the lungs. The lungsare readily accessible by intravenous, intratracheal, intranasal andaerosol delivery methods), and any of these routes is amenable to DNAvector delivery. However, delivery of nucleic acids by aerosol isnoninvasive, delivers directly to the affected tissue, and may helpprevent complications in non-target organs. Additionally, aerosoldelivery allows DNA to be delivered to the lungs in much higherquantities than may be obtained by systemic administration (Bennet etal. 2002, Journal of Aerosol Medicine, 15, 179-188). A number ofpromising gene therapy targets have been identified for the treatment ofpulmonary diseases. Dozens of gene therapy clinical trials are ongoingthat target cystic fibrosis treatment; disappointingly, however, thetherapy has so far been unsuccessful (O'Sullivan and Freedman, 2009,Lancet, 373, 1891-1904). Asthma also has high potential as a diseasetarget for RNA interference (Duncan et al., 2008, MolecularPharmaceutics, 5, 559-566) shRNA (Kozma et al., 2006, J. Immunol. 176:819-26) or microRNA (miRNA).

Example 6 Attachment of Chemical Moieties to Supercoiled Minivectors

A single-stranded circular DNA template was generated by first nickingsupercoiled Minivector DNA with a nicking endonuclease, Nt. BbvCI. T7exonuclease was then able to initiate nucleotide removal at the nickuntil the strand that was nicked was completely digested. The intactstrand lacked a 5′ terminus for the exonuclease to act upon andtherefore remained undigested. An internally labeled, 5′ phosphorylated,oligonucleotide primer was then annealed to the circular ssDNA template.The second strand was subsequently resynthesized using T4 DNApolymerase, starting and finishing at the primer, resulting in nicked,circular, labeled DNA. To restore supercoiling, ethidium bromide (EtBr),an intercalator that partially unwinds the DNA helix, was added. Sealingof the nick by T4 DNA ligase trapped the unwinding. Subsequent removalof the EtBr by butanol extraction produced negatively supercoiled,labeled Minivector DNA. A flow diagram of the process is shown in FIG.10.

Products at various stages of the procedure were analyzed bypolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on a 5% polyacrylamide gel. DNA wasvisualized by staining with SYBR Gold or visualized by excitation with a532 nm laser using a Typhoon Imager (GE Life Sciences) to detect for thepresence of the fluorescent Cy3 label. Cy3 fluorescence is only detectedin latter stages of the procedure, following the annealing of thelabeled primer and resynthesis of the second strand.

Cy3-labeled, 339 bp Minivector NDA was transfected into HeLa cells vialiposomal transfectional reagent “Lipofectamine 2000” after beingpurified through a 50K MW cutoff exclusion filter column to removelabeling primer unassociated with complete Minivector. The same 339 bpMinivector, lacking a fluorescent label, was transfected into HeLa in aparallel experiment as a negative control. Images three hours posttransfection showed DAPI stained nuclei identified via the blue emissionchannel at 457 nm. Cy3 labeled DNA was identified via the near redemission channel at 617 nm. Images confirmed the presence of the Cy3labeled DNA and the ability to visualize Minivector DNA via fluorescenceimaging methods (data not shown).

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The teachings of all patents, published applications and referencescited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to example embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

1. A nucleic acid molecule composition comprising a minivector, whereinsaid minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence.
 2. The composition ofclaim 1, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises short hairpin RNA(shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).
 3. The composition of claim 1, wherein thenucleic acid sequence comprises DNA that can be bound by a componentselected from the group consisting of: a protein; a different DNAsequence; an RNA sequence; and a cell membrane.
 4. The composition ofclaim 1, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.
 5. Thecomposition of claim 1, wherein the minivector comprises a chemicalmoiety, a modified oligonucleotide, and/or a modified backbone.
 6. Thecomposition of claim 6, wherein the chemical moiety is selected from thegroup consisting of: fluorescein, biotin, a dye, and cholesterol.
 7. Amethod of silencing expression of a gene in a cell comprising contactingsaid cell with a minivector, wherein said minivector encodes a nucleicacid sequence, wherein the nucleic acid sequence silences the expressionof the gene.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the nucleic acid sequencecomprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).
 9. The methodof claim 7, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises DNA that can bebound by a component selected from the group consisting of: a protein; adifferent DNA sequence; an RNA sequence; and a cell membrane.
 10. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.11. A method of gene therapy, comprising administering a therapeuticallyeffective amount of a minivector to a mammal in need thereof, whereinthe minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises short hairpin RNA(shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein thenucleic acid sequence comprises DNA that can be bound by a componentselected from the group consisting of: a protein; a different DNAsequence; an RNA sequence; and a cell membrane.
 14. The method of claim11, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.
 15. The methodof claim 11, wherein the mammal is a human.
 16. A method of genetherapy, comprising administering to a cell a therapeutically effectiveamount of a minivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleic acidsequence.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the nucleic acid sequencecomprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).
 18. The methodof claim 16, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises DNA that can bebound by a component selected from the group consisting of: a protein; adifferent DNA sequence; an RNA sequence; and a cell membrane.
 19. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.20. The method of claim 16, wherein the cell is a mammalian cell.
 21. Amethod of silencing anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene expression in amammalian cell, comprising administering to the mammalian cell aneffective amount of minivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleicacid sequence, and wherein the minivector silences anaplastic lymphomakinase gene expression.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the nucleicacid sequence comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).23. The method of claim 21, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprisesDNA that can be bound by a component selected from the group consistingof: a protein; a different DNA sequence; an RNA sequence; and a cellmembrane.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the nucleic acid sequencecomprises a gene.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the mammalian cellis a human cell.
 26. A method of treating cancer in a mammal in needthereof, comprising administering to the mammal a therapeuticallyeffective amount of a minivector, or a mammalian cell comprising aminivector, wherein the minivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence. 27.The method of claim 26, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprisesshort hairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA).
 28. The method of claim26, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises DNA that can be bound bya component selected from the group consisting of: a protein; adifferent DNA sequence; an RNA sequence; and a cell membrane.
 29. Themethod of claim 26, wherein the nucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.30. The method of claim 26, wherein the mammal is a human.
 31. Themethod of claim 26, wherein the cancer is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 32.The method of claim 26, wherein the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is anaplasticlarge cell lymphoma.
 33. A method of gene expression in a cellcomprising contacting said cell with a minivector, wherein saidminivector encodes a nucleic acid sequence, wherein the nucleic acidsequence expresses the gene.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein thenucleic acid sequence comprises a gene.
 35. The method of claim 33,wherein the cell is a mammalian cell.
 36. A method of gene therapy,comprising delivery to cells in the respiratory tract of a mammal, atherapeutically effective amount of a minivector, wherein the minivectorencodes a nucleic acid sequence.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein thenucleic acid sequence comprises short hairpin RNA (shRNA) or micro RNA(miRNA).
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the nucleic acid sequencecomprises DNA that can be bound by a component selected from the groupconsisting of: a protein; a different DNA sequence; an RNA sequence; anda cell membrane.
 39. The method of claim 36, wherein the nucleic acidsequence comprises a gene.
 40. The method of claim 36, wherein themammal is a human.
 41. The method of claim 36, wherein the minivector isdelivered by the use of a nebulization device.
 42. The method of claim36, wherein the minivector is delivered in the absence of a carriermolecule.
 43. The method of claim 36, wherein the minivector isdelivered to the nasal mucosa of the respiratory tract of the mammal.44. A mammalian cell comprising the composition of claim 1.